Ganbatte
by Naowt
Summary: There was only so much a boy could take. Instead of going home that day, he decided to do what he'd wanted to for years. One word pulled him back: Ganbatte. Now Izuku is a hero on the verge of discovering a plot ten years in the making that will throw all of Japan into chaos. (Aged up characters. Quirkless Izuku.)
1. Chapter 1

Moriko knew it was a bad idea to be out drinking so late. Fresh out of university and a new face in the company, the office decided on a night out to celebrate her hiring. Moriko herself hadn't drank much, but the same couldn't be said of her new senpai.

In the end she had to drag her manager to his apartment, where his wife was waiting with a heated glare. After a quick thank you and an apology for her troubles, Moriko left the building to head home herself.

It was between his house and hers when she noticed she was being followed.

It was subtle at first, the faint calling of instincts prompting her to look over her shoulder every now and then. Suspicious shadows in between the thinning crowds of the Tokyo streets. The haunting feeling that someone had synced their footsteps with her own.

She stuck to the light and kept a hand in her bag, clenched tightly around her taser. Whether their quirks were susceptible to it or not was the question, but she managed to get as many volts as she could while keeping it legal. She never thought she'd have to use it so soon after moving to the city.

Why weren't there any police around, or heroes for that matter? Just someone to deter whoever was following her.

Whilst she was looking over her shoulder, she bumped into someone.

"Oh! Sorry, I -"

She looked up into his shadowed eyes. _DANGER_ , her mind screamed and before she knew it she was stabbing her taser towards the man.

Her wrist flared in pain as it was seized and her knees buckled, giving him enough chance to pull her into an alley and hold a knife between her eyes.

"What's a pretty thing like you doing with something dangerous like this?" He said, dangling the taser in his other hand.

Moriko didn't take her eyes away from the blade. If she concentrated just right…

His fingers locked around her jaw, her taser dropped to the floor. "Now, I'm gonna take your bag and that necklace of yours. That watch too. After that, we're gonna go our separate ways all friendly, got it?"

She nodded slowly.

"Good." With that, he adjusted the knife so it was against her neck, brushing against her throat with every panicked breath. Her bag was yanked from her shoulder and before she knew it his large hands were grabbing at her necklace, ripping it off, broken chains clinking on the floor.

The knife bit into her skin as he hastily grabbed at her wrist, trying to undo the watch with one trembling hand. She'd sob if it wouldn't end her life.

What happened next was a blur.

The man yelped as his head threw back, quickly turning into a roar as he swung behind him. He missed whoever was there as he jumped back out of range. Moriko was released and she slid down the wall, her legs like jelly.

In the neon glow of the alley, a man stood. He was short, about half the height of her towering assailant. His hair was wild, the colour indiscernible under the light. But his eyes… his eyes were _green_. They burned through the rest of his dark profile and carved their way into her soul.

In his right hand was her taser, raised with his left in a guard.

Her attacker threw a punch. Her saviour ducked, slid in and delivered a swift uppercut, followed by a punch to the body. The villain flinched, but powered on, grabbing the green eyed man by the collar and headbutting him, sending him sprawling to the ground, clutching his nose.

Her attacker's beanie had come off too, revealing a set of bull horns protruding from his head. It explained his large stature.

"You bastard," he growled as he descended on her hero.

At the last second, the man turned, thrusting her taser into the bull man's ribs at full voltage. He screamed, but lifted the hero up by his neck and slammed him against the alley wall. After a couple of seconds, the taser turned off, its battery spent.

Her hero beat at the villain's arms, his legs dangling in the air as he tried to kick his opponent. Even in the neon glow, she could see his face turning blue.

Fear arcing through her, she tried to focus on the bull man's leg, willing for her quirk to activate. A beat passed, then two, and her hero's struggling faded into nothing. Her concentration broke as what happened hit her.

He'd been killed. Murdered. She sobbed.

Then he was alive, his body curling and his leg snapping up into the man's jaw. Like a serpent, the hero twisted around the bull's right arm, causing a loud _snap_ to echo off the walls. For the third time, Moriko heard the man scream, but this time it sounded like it _hurt_.

He fell, her hero still holding his arm, quickly turning their descent into an armbar which further broke the man's limb. Panting, the hero twisted, and a scream echoed out once more. Moriko flinched, but didn't look away.

Satisfied he wasn't getting up, her hero stood, wiping his bloody nose. He turned to her, his eyes boring into hers.

"Are you okay?"

His voice was gentler than she thought it would be. She nodded.

"You can go home now. He won't be getting up."

She looked at the writhing villain, grasping his arm as tears squoze themselves through his clenched eyes.

She jumped as green filled her vision. His mouth was covered, but by the upturn of his cheeks she knew he was smiling, if only a little. Somehow, it distracted her from his bloodied face. He opened her hands, which she didn't realise were clenched, and put her necklace in her palm. What followed were gentle words she knew would stay with her for a long time.

"Ganbatte."

And with that he stood, walking away and disappearing into the night.


	2. Chapter 2

"Welcome, sir, are you checking in?"

Cheap yet cosy was how Izuku would describe it. The foyer was carpeted with a warm orange, the furniture faded oak. Against the wall, the news played, yesterday's papers scattered on the table. Any guests were long in bed, three A.M. too much for even the most dedicated office worker to withstand.

Which made this the perfect location for a stakeout.

He adjusted his tie, and shook his suitcase. Added with his baggy eyes, he was the perfect picture of an exhausted worker. He didn't mean to yawn, but he rolled with it.

"Yes please." He put his case down. As she turned to the computer, he raised a hand. "Excuse me, if it's not too much trouble I'd like to request a specific room." He continued at her quizzical look. "I'm somewhat of a regular here. I usually don't stay in the office so late, you know?"

The receptionist smiled. "Of course, sir. Which room is it?"

"305 please."

"Certainly. Let me just log you in and get your keys."

Izuku smiled and nodded. "Thank you."

Two minutes later, Izuku closed his door and rushed to the window, closing the curtains before he turned off the lights. He fished a torch out of his pocket and set it on the floor, using it as a makeshift lamp as he opened his case.

Inside was his costume, still a little bloodied from his earlier fight. It rested on the bottom of the suitcase, covered by listening equipment, a grapple hook and a pair of binoculars. All of them were terribly outdated, but the agency didn't have a budget to work with, so he had to do with what he collected in his otaku days.

He checked his watch and peeked through the curtains. The building across seemed like any other in Tokyo; a shop on the ground floor and apartments above. However, it was the alley Izuku was looking at. There was a person there, hidden in shadow as they sat on the ground. Through his binoculars he could see the man's tattered clothing. If he didn't know any better, he would assume the man to be homeless.

But he had been following them for months.

Petty crime here, a bank robbery there, they all made loose threads that Izuku started to piece together. The same faces kept showing up, and those that were caught were known yakuza.

It was then Izuku thought back to the whole debacle ten years ago, when the heroes stormed a yakuza hideout on the search for experimental weapons. They caught Chisaki's Precepts, but the leader himself remained at large, the weapons along with him. Since then, there were heroes who had their quirks neutralised, each time the effect lasting longer.

Heroes applications declined swiftly after.

Up until now, the yakuza had been ghosts, blending in with society, flowing along the waves of unease that permeated Japan. But if Izuku was right, something big was about to go down.

He reached into his case and set up the equipment on the windowsill, twitching it until he could hear the man's ragged breathing.

With everything in place, Izuku pulled up a chair and sat down, opened his thermos and took a sip of his now lukewarm coffee. It was going to be a long night.

It was an hour before sunrise when there was movement. A pair of men approached. Izuku put on his headphones.

"The snake burrows," one said.

The ragged man stood and replied, "and cleanses the earth."

The ragged man moved to the side and pressed a hand to the wall. A brick gave, opening up a sliding door.

"I still don't get all this code word stuff. You know who we are, this ain't no spy film."

The ragged man chuckled. "You know what the boss is like. 'Sides, you'll see why we've got all this when the meeting starts."

One of the men stilled. "You mean…"

"Just wait and see."

With that, the men entered and the door clicked back into place. The guard going back to his inconspicuous duty.

Time to move.

He closed his case, picked it up and set out the door. When he passed the foyer, he gave the receptionist a smile. "Just stepping out for a bit."

She nodded blearily, obviously ready for the end of her shift.

When he was out the door, Izuku checked his watch as he turned the corner. 04:15. He had two hours before he had to report back to the agency. Plenty of time. Then again, when did things go right?

Still in his suit, he approached the guard, head slightly bent. "The snake burrows," he said.

"And cleanses the earth," the guard replied. "I didn't think we'd be having anyone else in." The skepticism was evident.

However this wasn't Izuku's first infiltration. "I've been out of town. Took me a while to get with all those checkpoints in place."

"They are a pain, aren't they?" The guard crossed his arms. "Don't think I've seen you around though. I'd remember that hair. I'm very good at remembering people."

That probably had something to do with the camera lense embedded on his forehead, peeking from underneath his cap. "In my line of work, if you're spotted then you're dead."

"An assassin then? More reason for you to leave your case here." His head gestured to the wall.

"I can't bring it in?" Izuku's voice remained neutral. _Go with the flow_.

"You can bring your heat, but the case will have to stay. Assassins have a tendency to be bought out. That could be a bomb for all I know."

"It's not, I assure you."

The guard smirked. "Then you won't mind opening it for us then, would you?"

Izuku tightened his grip and smiled. "Of course." He reached for the clasp. The guard's eyes followed. His smile became a smirk.

There was a rustle of cloth and a rush of wind as the case slammed into the guard's face, breaking his lense and knocking him out. Izuku dragged the man aside and propped him against the wall before pushing in the brick.

The locks behind the wall clicked open and the inside was revealed; an elevator, another guard standing by the controls. Judging by the bored expression on his face, he was none the wiser.

"Get in then. It's about to start. Not like I can see it anyway," he mumbled at the end.

Izuku nodded and stepped in, his back to the guard. When the gates closed and the lift started to descend, Izuku feigned hesitation. "One second. Could you hold this for me?" Held the case forward.

"Uh, sure." As soon as his hands grasped it, Izuku struck, grabbing the man's face and slamming his head into the metal wall. He dropped along with the case. Izuku's chest churned at the force he used.

 _You're already at a disadvantage, kid. Don't make it worse by holding yourself back._

He shook his head, opened the case and slid his mask over his head, the fabric settling over his mouth and neck once again. He didn't want any yakuza getting a good look at him.

Surprisingly, there were no guards when the doors opened. Perhaps they thought their defenses were suitable enough.

The hideout was a factory, pipes large and small running along the walls, feeding into the blaring lights above and massive tanks filled with a liquid of some kind from izuku could see through the windows. On the floor, about fifty yakuza stood watching the catwalk opposite Izuku's, several men dressed head to toe in white suits gazing resolutely forward.

Izuku ducked down and found a shadowed ccorner by the staircase. The door guard said they weren't expecting anyone else, so he should be safe from being snuck up on.

The murmurs of the crowd hushed a the office door opened. Step by high-heeled step, she clanged her way across the catwalk, white dress fluttering behind her. When she reached the railing, she leaned forward, a shadow casting over her face.

Chisaki's people still had a flair for the dramatic.

There was a beat, then she spoke. "Brothers and sisters, today marks the beginning." Young, strong, resolute, yet gentle. Details that didn't match any of Chisaki's current pack of Precepts. Yet the girl was still in a position of power. "The beginning of cleansing this country of the infestation that has plagued it for so long."

There was a thrum of anticipation through the crowd.

"I speak of the heroes. Of so-called _keepers of the peace_. Of people who threw the yakuza into the darkness, where they left us as they basked in their new world of light. But they forgot. They forgot who we were. _We_ who ran this country for centuries. _We_ who kept order and helped our fellow countrymen. _We_ who will once again bring salvation."

They were enraptured, chattering amongst themselves. Izuku could understand why. The girl was convicted in her speech.

"Yet there are still rats who would fight against the cleansing." Something cold shot through Izuku's body. "Rats who scurry in the shadows. Following, picking at the scraps we leave behind." The room became heavy. "And even though rats are clever, they are like any animal. Tempt them in with what they want, and trigger the trap whilst they are unaware." The lift doors slammed close. "Isn't that right, rat?"

All heads turned to him, and he could see the girl's red eyes pierce the darkness. Slowly, the yakuza below made for the stairs. Slowly, Izuku backed up, eyeing any other routes he could go. Whilst he was scanning, he saw the girl give a bloodthirsty grin. "Kill him. He will be the start of our proclamation."

Their steps advanced and Izuku cursed, his heart thundering in his chest. There had to be somewhere. They wouldn't just have one way in and out, would they? Surely not. There had to be _somewhere_ -.

There was light being cast on the factory floor, shining from a corridor in the corner. There was one complication: it was through the fifty or so yakuza, all of whom were encroaching on him.

It was times like these Izuku wished he had a quirk.

There was a blur. Someone jumped over the railing, claws poised for attack.

Izuku moved without thinking, shifting to the side and bringing up his case to slam into the woman's body. She span in the air, landing on all fours before coiling back, one hand raised. The first time Izuku sees a real-life cat girl and she wanted to kill him. Great.

Her attack spurned the others, and Izuku had to quickly turn and swing as another tried to strike him from behind. Another came from the front and was kicked away into his friends. Something hard clocked Izuku on the back of the head, and he rolled with the blow, barely managing to get back to his feet before he was kicked to the ground.

His hands flew to his face as he curled in on himself, blows beginning to rain down on him.

Thump. Smack. A boot slammed into his liver. Another was stomping at his hands, desperately trying to reach his face.

Each hit pushed his consciousness further away.

 _This is it then…_

" _ **Don't give up!"**_

 _The voice startled him and he almost stumbled off the edge._

 _Izuku looked around, wild eyed._

" _ **I know it's bad now, but it'll get better, I'm sure!"**_

 _It came from beneath. There, a girl he couldn't make out through the trees was cupping her hands over her mouth._

" _ **So don't give up! Ganbatte!"**_

 _Ganbatte… I guess it's not this time either._

With a cry that burnt his throat, he grabbed the nearest leg and _pulled_ , bringing down whoever it belonged to. Izuku was quickly on him, withstanding the painful blows to his back as he slammed an elbow into the man's face.

With another cry, he charged for the mass, shrugging off a fist that clumsily met his face. The world blurred as he threw his fists and stumbled from blows. Eventually, his back met the wall. Quirks flared, Izuku's instincts screamed, and he ducked just before a knife ebedded into the concrete behind him.

Rising back up, Izuku grabbed a pipe on the wall and ripped it off, using the swing to clock a yakuza on the side of the head. Some backed up. Other, bulkier ones kept going.

Izuku gritted his teeth and swung.

Jaws, joints, in between the legs. Izuku hit anything vital he could as he tried to thin them down. Some were startled by his ferocity, and backed up enough that Izuku could see his case on the floor.

He threw the pipe at the people surrounded it and charged as they flinched back. When his hands locked around the handle, he swung again, knocking one down and creating an opening for Izuku to jump from the catwalk to the floor below. Not wasting time, he sprinted down the corridor.

"Kill him! Kill him, kill him, kill him!" She was furious.

Just before Izuku could make it to the door at the end of the corridor, his feet were grabbed and he fell, cursing as his chin bounced off the floor.

Twisting, he barely missed the clawed hand to his face. His hand flew back and was parried. The two began trading blows, neither landing as the cat girl snarled. At the sound of dozens of footsteps, Izuku chose to slip the swipe, getting a raking claw on his cheek. It stung, but it gave him the chance to counter with his own fist, knocking the woman off, who he finished with a kick to the face.

Free, he slammed into the door, not looking back as it brought him into a confined tunnel. He kept running, until he came upon a split. One path forward, two on the sides.

"Get him!"

He picked left, sprinting through his burning lungs.

He didn't know how long he ran, but eventually the sounds of his pursuers faded. Still, he couldn't stop. Soon he heard the sound of water and followed it to its source.

It was the sewer network. Beams of light came through the grate above the service ladder. Wherever Izuku was going to end up, it would at least be outside.

He got a few odd looks from the early goers as he slid back the grate and pulled himself up with some difficulty.

"Midori?"

Izuku froze, slowly turning his head up to the dazzling form of the world's number one hero. "Lemillion!" The early morning sky blazed above him. "You're up late."

The hero quirked his thin brow. "It's six in the morning."

Ah, yes. Not everyone had Izuku's schedule. He blushed, his old stutter washing over him. "Y-yeah…"

"What were you doing in the sewer? Is that blood? Are you okay?"

"I-I'm fine! Well not one hundred percent, but there's something more important here. It's the yakuza."

A strange shade went across Lemillion's eyes at their name. "What is it?"

"They're planning something. Something big. I didn't know how big it was," he rambled, "I didn't know it would be so quick, but they're going to do _something_."

"So you knew about this?"

"No, yes… listen, I'll tell you everything, but we need to move."

"Okay, Midori," Lemillion said, holding out a helping hand. "But you're going to tell me _everything_."

Izuku nodded, becoming aware of the stench on his clothes. "Absolutely, we'll just have to - wait." Lemillion quirked a brow. "You said it was six in the morning?"

"Yes, why is - "

Izuku's watch sprang to life, a growl coming from the other end. "Midori," the deep female voice ground out. "Where. Are. You. This is the fifth time you've been late reporting in!"

"I - I'm sorry, but I just finished up a case. I'm just going to debrief Lemillion on something then I - "

"Oh no you don't! You're coming right here! Bring that lug with you as well."

"Y-yes ma'am."

"You've got five minutes, Midori."

* * *

 **Thank you for reading.**


End file.
